O'Brien's achievements not minimized by loss

Posted: Tuesday, September 26, 2000

Steve Brannan

When Alex O'Brien left for the Olympics almost two weeks ago, the former Tascosa star and U.S. Open champion could hardly contain his excitement. He would talk openly about the honor of being an Olympian and representing his country and hometown of Amarillo. Family and friends, some of whom followed him Down Under, waited anxiously for him to step onto the tennis courts in Sydney and eventually bring home a medal - maybe even gold.

But in the span of one match, O'Brien learned firsthand that the Olympics can be as cruel as they are glorious.

Every four years, a new breed of athletes emerges that takes the world by storm. Many of them come from seemingly nowhere to earn medals many people never though possible.

At the same time, there are also the heartbreaking stories of medals that never were. Sadly, O'Brien falls into this category. Seeded second in the men's doubles draw with partner Jared Palmer, O'Brien saw his Olympic dream shattered with a 6-2, 6-4 loss in the second round to Mark Knowles and Mark Merklein of the Bahamas. Like so many athletes before O'Brien, a medal that many thought was assured suddenly was gone.

Still, O'Brien is to be commended for all that he has accomplished.

Before the 2000 tennis season began, O'Brien made the Olympics his goal. He ended his long partnership with Canadian Sebastien Lareau and chose instead to play with Palmer, an old college teammate at Stanford. Together, they made a case for themselves to be selected for the U.S. team, climbing to No. 1 in the world early in the season. The two even played Davis Cup for the Americans, another international event pitting the best countries in the world in head-to-head competition.

Prior to leaving for Sydney, O'Brien compared the Olympics to a combination of the Davis Cup and the U.S. Open. Like the Open, the field assembled is the best in the world, but it also had the patriotic appeal of the team competition associated with Davis Cup.

Tennis at the Olympics, though, is made for upsets. Rarely do the top seeds reach the heights expected in an event many only see as secondary. The Grand Slams are where players make their marks. Among the surprise winners in the past is Jennifer Capriati, who won the women's singles at the 1992 Barcelona Games but never won a Grand Slam title.

The same theory certainly applies in doubles. In what essentially has become a specialized event in the men's game, the doubles field has grown deeper, and entire matches can hang on one or two points. Break opportunities are cherished as they are often so hard to come by. O'Brien and Palmer never had a chance to break Knowles and Merklein, something that proved costly in the end.

After the second-round loss, O'Brien was obviously distraught. He mentioned that he was disgusted with his play and might choose to quit tennis.

Many of those comments, though, were said in the heat of the moment. O'Brien remains one of the top doubles players in the world. When he and Palmer play at the level they showed at Indian Wells earlier in the season, they can defeat any team in the world. They are still a threat at Grand Slam tournaments and complement each other with their different styles.

But good things don't come easy. It took O'Brien several tries before he finally won his first Grand Slam title. Those victories don't come simply by luck or good draws, but through hard work and dedication. O'Brien has shown both throughout his career, and that is something that won't be expected to change.

O'Brien may not have won a medal in Sydney. At 30, he may not have another chance in four years at Athens. Yet even through a loss, O'Brien still can exhibit everything that is right in the Olympics.

Steve Brannan, sports writer for the Globe-News, can be reached at (806) 345-3314 or at sbrannan@amarillonet.com